DASFAM_CH 11

The crowd's gaze quickly sought the source of the sound—

On the large balcony of the main house's second floor, Old Master Shang stood elegantly in front of the railing, his sharp, eagle-like eyes scrutinizing everyone in the garden.

The kind of authoritative pressure that only belongs from someone in a high position spreads out within seconds of his appearance.

Shang Songming met Old Master Shang's gaze, and the anger that had been written all over his face instantly disappeared, replaced by a hint of fear as he stammered, "Grand, grandfather."

Shang Queyan, who was sitting in a wheelchair, also unconsciously straightened up. He silently pulled the blanket over his legs tighter, and his voice tense, "Grandfather."

Bai Xu sensed the tension radiating from the two people beside him, but his gaze at Old Master Shang didn't waver in the slightest, his thoughts drifting—

Old Master Shang reminded him too much of his own grandfather who had passed away two years ago.

In the real world, Bai Xu's parents had divorced when he was very young due to emotional discord. The Bai family also has a group industry, and Bai's father was busy with business, constantly traveling around the world all year round.

Since the age of seven, Bai Xu had been raised under the care of Old Mr. Bai.

Old Mr. Bai had always been known as a big entrepreneur, and though he was retired, he never relaxed in educating his young grandson, Bai Xu.

Strict in major matters, yet caring in the details.

Among the children of the Bai family, Bai Xu understood Old Mr. Bai the best and was also the most liked by him.

Now, the image of Old Master Shang subtly yet unexpectedly integrated with the memory of his own grandfather, even though in the original novel, Old Master Shang was depicted as a ‘strange-tempered’ old man.

"……"

Old Master Shang met Bai Xu's unwavering gaze, and his eyes narrowing slightly.

But soon, he returned his attention to his two grandsons, "It's cold outside these two days, let's go inside."

With that, he turned and went back indoors on the second floor.

Shang Songming only relaxed once Old Master Shang’s figure disappeared from sight, his heart dropping back to its place, "Whew."

That was terrifying.

Luckily, the old man hadn’t heard the provocative things he’d said earlier.

Shang Queyan noticed his reaction and mocked, "You still know how to be afraid?"

At this point, Shang Songming had no more desire to provoke. He just threw out a ‘you wait and see’ before hurrying back to the main house.

Butler Lin looked disapprovingly at Shang Songming's retreating figure and shook his head.

Remembering everything that had just happened, he turned to Bai Xu with a bit of gratitude in his eyes, "Mr. Xiao Bai, thank you."

Fortunately, Bai Xu had shown up just in time, interrupting Shang Songming's repeated provocations and even delivering a subtle yet sharp retort.

"No need to thank me, I was just stating the truth."

Bai Xu couldn't stand Shang Songming's smug attitude and was equally disgusted by his malicious behavior of reopening old wounds.

He glanced at Shang Queyan, whose emotions had calmed, and with a playful tone as if teasing a child, said, "If anyone should be thanking me, it should be the Fourth Young Master here."

Shang Queyan still remembered the argument by the lake yesterday and, being stubborn, responded, "Keep dreaming."

Bai Xu smiled, "It's fine. For your brother's sake, I won't hold a grudge against my little brother-in-law."

"……"

Shang Queyan was caught off guard by the sudden use of ‘little brother-in-law’ and was left speechless.

Butler Lin suppressed his smile and reminded, "Fourth Young Master, Mr. Xiao Bai, we should head inside."

"En."

The three headed towards the main house.

Bai Xu exchanged a glance with Xie Qi, who was waiting at the entrance, signaling him to join them inside.

…

The family dinner was arranged in the small dining room on the west side.

As Bai Xu and the others entered, they noticed that Shang Songming had already taken his seat. Beside him sat a middle-aged couple.

Butler Lin stepped forward to introduce them, "Mr. Shang, Second Madam."

Bai Xu naturally recognized the couple—

Shang Yun and his wife, Fang Yuhua. After all, his marriage with Shang Yanxiao was not possible without the help of these two people.

Shang Yun saw them enter the house and immediately expressed his concern, “Xiao Yan is here. How are you feeling these past few days? Someone, move that wooden chair to make space for Queyan to sit comfortably.”

Fang Yuhua allowed her husband to play the role of the ‘good guy’ and hid a slight smile behind a sip of water—

In this family, the most capable and the one Old Master Shang valued the most was still lying in bed with no signs of waking up. The only remaining representative of the third branch, Shang Queyan, was clearly disabled.

With the first branch absent tonight, wasn’t it obvious that the second branch would dominate this family gathering?

Bai Xu caught the subtle expression on Fang Yuhua’s face and sneered imperceptibly.

Like mother, like son.

Xie Qi noticed Bai Xu's reaction and asked in a low voice, "Mr. Xiao Bai, what's wrong?"

Bai Xu shook his head slightly and covered his mouth with his hand, "Where's the first branch? No one came?"

Xie Qi remembered something and replied coldly, "They left overseas a month and a half ago, and haven’t returned yet."

Originally, Shang Qi and Shang Yanxiao were in charge of Shang's overseas business. After the third branch suffered a car accident, the first branch successfully intercepted it with the reason that ‘a large overseas project is about to start’.

"...…"

Overseas?

Bai Xu sensed something subtle but couldn’t quite put his finger on it before footsteps were heard approaching the doorway.

Accompanied by the head butler, Old Master Shang and his wife entered the small dining room side by side.

The second branch, who had been seated, immediately stood up. Shang Yun respectfully greeted, "Dad, Mom."

Old Master Shang glanced around the room and said, "Those who aren't family can wait in the small private room next door. Family members, take your seats. Old Zheng, you can instruct the kitchen to start serving the food."

The head butler responded, "Understood."

Butler Lin bowed and reminded, "Fourth Young Master, if you need anything, just call me."

Bai Xu exchanged a glance with Xie Qi, and the two, along with Butler Lin, sensibly made their way to the small private room next door to quietly wait for the family dinner to conclude.

As soon as Old Master Shang sat down, the second branch followed suit.

"Xiao Yan, since your brother isn’t here, you can sit next to your grandmother."

Old Madam Shang, concerned about her recently recovered grandson, also gestured to Bai Xu, who had just arrived, "Bai Xu, you sit with us too. It's just a small family dinner tonight, no need for too many formalities."

Bai Xu played along with the timid demeanor of the original host, "Thank you, Old Madam."

Old Master Shang, hearing this meek response, discreetly glanced at Bai Xu—

In truth, he was dissatisfied with Bai Xu's family background and had initially opposed the idea of someone with such a questionable status entering the Shang family in such a ridiculous manner.

However, seeing how his wife was consumed with worry over their grandson who was still unconscious, crying day and night, he eventually turned a blind eye and allowed the marriage to proceed.

And just now, when he had glanced at Bai Xu on the balcony, he thought the young man might have some courage. But now that he saw him up close, Bai Xu’s character seemed just as weak and incompetent as the background check had suggested.

How could someone like that be worthy of Yanxiao? It would be best to send him away in due time.

The hot dishes for the family dinner had all been prepared in advance and were served quickly.

Don't talk while eating, this is the rule that Old Mr. Shang has always set. Everyone ate quietly at the table, and the atmosphere was rigid and somewhat stifling.

It wasn’t until the main course ended and the sweet soup was served that Old Madam Shang gently broke the silence, “Xiao Xu, have you adapted well at home these days?”

"……"

Bai Xu didn't expect that the first thing Old Madam Shang would say was to express concern for him. He quickly put down the soup spoon, "Thank you for your concern, Old Madam, I’m fine."

"That's good. Now that you're part of the family, don't feel restrained."

Old Madam Shang smiled warmly, appearing kind and gentle, "You’re living under the same roof with Yanxiao and Queyan now. Be sure to look out for each other."

“En."

Across the table, Shang Songming, seeing Old Madam Shang’s continued concern for the third branch, remembered the verbal attack he had received earlier by the fountain. His mood soured.

Fang Yuhua, noticing her son's discomfort, discreetly patted his hand under the table to comfort him.

“......”

Mother and son exchanged a brief glance.

Fang Yuhua returned the gaze and took the opportunity to agree, "That's right, now that you've joined the Shang family, you're one of us."

She looked toward Old Master Shang, using his philosophy of running the household as support, "Our honor is shared, as is our disgrace. Don’t go out and make mistakes that would embarrass the Shang family."

Bai Xu’s eyes narrowed slightly, sensing an underlying message in her words.

Old Master Shang picked up on the tension, “Second daughter-in-law, what do you mean by this?”

Fang Yuhua cast a pointed glance at Bai Xu across the table and hesitated, "Dad, I heard some gossip today, but I’m not sure if I should mention it."

Old Master Shang had no patience for this kind of talk, "If it’s not worth saying, then keep quiet and eat the unnecessary preamble."

Her sharp and straightforward words made Fang Yuhua's heart skip a beat.

She quickly adjusted her demeanor and pulled out her phone, "A friend sent me a short surveillance video about the third branch."

"……"

Third branch?

The mention of ‘the third branch’ made Shang Queyan furrow his brow, "What video?"

The phone was passed to Old Master Shang by the head butler.

Fang Yuhua added, "Dad, doesn’t it look like the people fighting in this video are the bodyguards from the third branch? And I see that the person standing on the side is Bai Xu."

"……"

Sure enough.

Bai Xu had already guessed the video's content the moment it was mentioned. Hearing Fang Yuhua's blatant targeting and manipulation, he struggled to suppress a cold laugh.

Interesting, he hadn’t even started yet, and someone was already singing his tune.

In fact, Bai Xu had indeed planned to put on a performance during this family dinner, but he never expected that the second branch would set the stage for him.

Old Master Shang scrutinized the contents of the surveillance footage, and the head butler was the first to recognize the situation, "Sir, the group involved in the fight is indeed the third young master’s bodyguard. I believe his name is Chen Yufei."

The person watching from behind was indeed Bai Xu.

Old Madam Shang, feeling puzzled, took the phone to see for herself.

Old Master Shang fixed his gaze on Bai Xu and asked, "What about the others who were fighting? Who are they?"

Fang Yuhua, thinking she had control of the narrative, quickly chimed in, "I’ve looked into it. Among the three young men fighting in the store, the one in the black clothes is the son of the Jinbai Group!"

"They were there to buy clothes the other day and ended up running into Bai Xu and his group. A small argument broke out, and then things escalated to a fight."

"……"

A small argument?

And what about who threw the first punch?

Bai Xu quietly listened to Fang Yuhua’s attempt to downplay the situation, not rushing to refute her.

“Dad, you don’t know…”

“I heard that the Chen family’s young master was severely injured by our Shang family's bodyguard and is currently lying in the hospital!”

Shang Songming interjected, “I remember that the bodyguard by Yanxiao’s side is a retired soldier. He’s quite skilled. How could he have initiated a fight?”

Before the echoes of his words faded, he threw the question at Bai Xu.

“Bai Xu, Chen Yufei is just a bodyguard paid to do his job. Since he was with you, he shouldn’t have acted without your permission, right?”

“I’m worried about this too!” 

Fang Yuhua also shifted the focus of the issue onto Bai Xu, putting on an appearance of being ‘completely considerate of the Shang family’, "After all, Bai Xu just joined our family, and his relationship with Yanxiao is only nominally..."

Old Master Shang interrupted with a cough, frowning in disapproval.

Fang Yuhua paused for a moment, quickly recalibrating her approach, “What I meant was, Bai Xu is technically a part of the third branch, and to offend the Jinbai Group so soon isn’t ideal, is it?”

“And I heard from Shang Yun that the Jinbai Group is interested in collaborating with our Shang family? With something like this happening now, Dad, do you think the third branch should apologize?”

"……"

Bai Xu listened to Fang Yuhua's carefully constructed arguments and finally understood her intentions: 

First, she wanted to embellish the incident to tarnish his image in front of the Old Master and Madam Shang.

Second, if they really sent someone to apologize or admit fault, how would the third branch maintain their dignity in the future?

It was killing two birds with one stone.

Unfortunately, she had miscalculated her opponent.

Old Madam Shang didn't fully side with Fang Yuhua, she exchanged a knowing glance with her husband and turned the opportunity for explanation back to Bai Xu, “Xiao Xu, what’s going on?”

"……"

Bai Xu quickly composed himself, and when he looked up again, his eyes were already reddened with grievance. “I didn’t do anything. They looked down on me first…”

His voice carried a rare tremor, rising in intensity, “They looked down on our Shang family!”

–

TL: Muji

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